Page 24 of Claiming His Wife
“The baby is yours.” I hate that she feels the need to clarify. Of course, the baby is mine. Mallory is mine. “Well, say something,” she says pulling her hand out of mine. I instantly feel the loss.
“Sorry, you caught me off-guard.”
“Yeah, well…” She chews on her bottom lip and somehow manages to look both hopeful and dejected at the same time.
“I can’t believe it… I mean…” I trail off because I’m remembering the clasp of her pussy around my bare cock and I know exactly how it happened, the only time she’s allowed me to make love to her and we didn’t use condoms. We’ve never used condoms, not since the first time. We got tested, and Mallory was already on birth control… there was never a reason to have anything between us. I don’t know why I assumed she was on the pill. I can’t say I’m upset because I’m fucking thrilled that she’s pregnant. “I thought you were on the pill.”
Anger flashes in her eyes and her entire body goes taut with tension. “Why would I be on the pill? The last I knew you wanted to try for a baby and then you didn’t touch me for over a year!”
I’m not sure what to say to that because she’s not wrong. “I’m sorry.”
From the look on her face, that was the exact wrong thing to say. “Sorry. You’re sorry?!” She’s practically screaming and drawing attention from the other diners. If she weren’t so upset, she’d be embarrassed, but as it is, she doesn’t acknowledge the people around us. “You know what? Forget it. You’re off the hook. Sign the fucking papers, Scott. We are over. This is over. Quit contesting. Just… let me go.” The last is said on a sob. As she gets up from the booth, her oversized shirt is pulled tight to her body, and I can see the distinguishable baby bump.
I call after her as she walks away, but she ignores me. Just then the waitress shows up with a tray laden with our food trapping me in my seat so that I’m forced to watch Mallory walk out of the restaurant. By the time I throw money down for our uneaten meal, Mallory is long gone, and I’m left standing in the parking lot at a complete loss as to what to do now.
* * *
I’m backto being regulated to sitting outside Mallory’s apartment building waiting to catch a glimpse of her and it fucking sucks. It’s been a week since our misunderstanding—and that’s what it is, if she would’ve given me a chance to wrap my mind around my thoughts, she’d have known how happy I am to be a dad.
The passenger door opens, and Jen plops down in the seat, slamming the door closed. She turns in the seat and glares at me. If looks could kill, I’d be a dead man.
“Explain yourself,” she says in her usual no-nonsense way.
“What do you want to know?”
“The better question is, do you like your dick?”
Despite my mood, I smile at that. If Jen is threatening bodily harm, then she’s not completely written me off. It gives me hope because if she thought Mallory and I were finished, she’d not waste her time with not-so-veiled threats.
“I’m kind of attached to it.”
Jen rolls her eyes. “What happened at lunch? Mal won’t talk about it.”
“She told me she’s pregnant and that I’m off the hook.”
“That fucking idiot,” Jen growls. “So damned stubborn. Tell me, what do you want?”
That’s the easiest question I’ve ever answered. “I want what I’ve always wanted. I want my wife.”
“The baby?”
“I want that more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
Jen smiles widely. “Good answer. Now, what are you going to do to win her back? She’s convinced you don’t want to be a dad.”
“She won’t talk to me. I’ve tried.”
Jen taps her finger on her lips, thinking. “I know! She’s got a doctor’s appointment next week. You’ve got to go to it and show her that you’re all in.”
Another week without Mallory sounds like hell, but Jen is right, if I can make her see that I truly want our baby, she’ll come back to me. I just have to figure out what to do with myself for the next week so that I don’t lose my ever-loving mind.
* * *
I standin the middle of what used to be my home office but is now a nursery. The walls are a pale yellow, the hardwood floors are covered in a plush rug, there is a rocking chair set up in one corner. I just finished assembling the crib and changing table. Adam is putting the finishing touches on the mural he is painting on one wall—a forest scene with woodland creatures that match the bedding and everything else in the room. Once he is done the room will be complete—and perfect.
Jen was right that I needed to prove to Mallory that I am all in with us and the baby. Going to the doctor’s appointment is an excellent first step, but it isn’t enough. That’s when I decided to start this project. She’s worried that I don’t want the baby, but I know she’s also still worried that I’m going to go back to my obsessive work hours. I can’t think of a better way to show her that is absolutely not going to happen than to convert my office into a room for our baby.
When we bought the house, we bought it with the idea that our family would grow. There are three guest bedrooms that are mostly empty. It would have been simpler to convert one of those rooms, but this is better. This is a physical representation of my commitment to change.